Porsche kicks off the Formula E weekend in Seoul in the points
Porsche has earned points at the premiere of Formula E in Seoul. At race 15 of this season’s ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Pascal Wehrlein (GER) took the flag in seventh place at the wheel of his Porsche 99X Electric and earned points. His teammate André Lotterer (GER), who contests his last race for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team on Sunday, did not reach the finish line.
Both Porsche 99X Electric tackled the Seoul E-Prix sporting a new and exclusive design. In celebration of Porsche and its global partner TAG Heuer’s world premiere of the TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 – Porsche Edition, their first jointly developed Smartwatch. The sports car manufacturer and the Swiss luxury watch brand joined forces as global partners in 2021, and TAG Heuer has been the title partner of the team since 2019.
In the drivers’ classification of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Pascal Wehrlein heads into the final race of the season in tenth place with 71 points. André Lotterer ranks twelfth with 63 points. In the team classification, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team lies in sixth place with 134 points.
Race 15
After a strong qualifying performance, Pascal Wehrlein started the penultimate race of the season on the Seoul Street Circuit from P4. However, he got a poor start off the line with his Porsche 99X Electric and lost four positions as a result. He then drove a solid race on the 2.618-kilometre circuit – part of which runs through the 1988 Olympic Stadium – to score points with seventh place. Starting from P20, the race for André Lotterer was over on the first lap. As one of eight drivers, he ploughed straight into the barrier at Turn 20 on the track which at this point was still extremely wet. His vehicle sustained such serious damages that he was unable to continue when the race restarted after a long interruption.
Comments on the Seoul E-Prix, race 15
Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E: “That was a challenging day under difficult conditions. Pascal put in a great performance from the outset, he was strong in the free practice and qualifying in both wet and dry conditions. However, he lost four positions at the start. We still have to take a closer look at why this happened. It’s a pity because we had the pace for a podium result today and perhaps even to win the race. For André, the race was over shortly after the start when several drivers slid into Turn 20. For tomorrow’s race, we want to build on Pascal’s solid performance and wrap up the season on a positive note.”
Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche works driver (#94): “The race itself was good but I’m not happy with the result. At the start, I had no power and lost four positions. My pace was good after that, but it was very tricky to overtake on this racetrack. It’s a shame we couldn’t do more with our solid grid position. In the final race of the season tomorrow, we want to do our absolute best again.”
André Lotterer, Porsche works driver (#36): “That was a super difficult day. I already experienced problems in practice and qualifying and a slow puncture made it impossible to set a decent time. On the wet track with poor visibility, I carefully felt my way in the race. I took things very cautiously and braked early for Turn 20. There was so much water lying on the track that seven or eight cars drove straight ahead. Now I’m hoping that things go better for us at my last Formula E race tomorrow.”
Next up
Race 16 in Seoul gets underway on Sunday, 14 August, at 4 pm local time (9am CEST). The worldwide broadcasting schedule of the Formula E event is available on: https://www.fiaformulae.com/watch/ways-to-watch.
Porsche in Formula E
With a historic one-two result thanks to Pascal Wehrlein and André Lotterer in the Porsche 99X Electric, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team celebrated its greatest success to date in Mexico on 12 February 2022. The team contests its third season in the world’s first all-electric racing series. At the debut event in November 2019, André Lotterer scored second place at the season-opening race in Diriyah: a dream start and proof that with the Porsche 99X Electric, Porsche had a competitive vehicle right from the outset. Last season, Wehrlein claimed pole position in Mexico City. Two podium results followed with Wehrlein finishing third in Rome and Lotterer securing second in Valencia. As an accelerator for innovative and sustainable mobility technologies, Formula E has brought thrilling motorsport to people living in major cities since 2014. With the all-electric Taycan, Porsche supplies the safety car this season, underlining the importance of Formula E for Porsche Motorsport.